Page 112 of The Sunrise Sisterhood

‘He does. He adores Ivy already.’ Her face went dreamy. ‘You should have seen them together at the beach. He played with her. Dad never did that with me. Then when a dog gatecrashed our rug and knocked her over, I thought he was going to punch the dog’s owner, he was so cross.’

Skye whistled under her breath. ‘You’ve got it bad.’

‘Shut up.’ Clare side-eyed her, nonetheless turning a pretty shade of pink. ‘It’s just … He could have been someone who doesn’t like kids, and he isn’t and that makes me feel so much better about him. And he was there when she took her first steps, which is such a major thing in her development – literally, her first steps on earth. I’ll never forget that moment – the look of surprise on Ivy’s face that she was finally doing it, and the look of elation on his. It feels like a sign.’

‘I’m really happy for you,’ said Skye. There was a lump in her throat just looking at the happiness on her sister’s face. ‘So, your date with him tonight. Is this about Ivy connecting with him or you hooking up with the sexy hotel guy again?’

Clare pulled a face. ‘Can it be both?’

Skye laughed. ‘It might be easier to be romantic if you don’t have a small person to look after. Besides, if you have Ivy with you, your focus will have to be shared between him and her. Go by yourselves and you can gaze lustily into each other’s eyes without distraction.’

‘Go out without Ivy?’ Clare looked as appalled as if Skye had suggested going out in her birthday suit.

‘I’ll babysit. She knows me well enough now. Go out out. Get dressed up – well, as much as you can with that big thing on your arm.’ Skye watched a variety of thoughts cross Clare’s face. ‘Go on. See if the chemistry is still there.’

Clare took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. ‘OK.’

‘Yes!’ Skye raised her hand and Clare high-fived her. ‘I repeat, Adam is a lucky guy.’

‘And your lucky guy is out there somewhere too,’ Clare replied. ‘You just haven’t met him yet.’

Skye’s heart thundered against her ribs; she held Clare’s gaze, daring herself to say it aloud.

Clare’s eyes widened. ‘Oh my God. Have you met someone else?’

‘Shush, keep your voice down.’ Skye looked at the door nervously.

‘You have!’ Clare’s smile was triumphant.

‘What you said about a spark missing between me and Jesse.’ Skye wet her dry lips with her tongue.

‘Yes?’

‘I think I may have found the spark.’ She chewed her lip. ‘But it’s not a man.’

It wasn’t a secret that she’d dated boys and girls in the past, it wasn’t that that was making her heart race. It was the strength of her feelings towards Marta which shocked her.

‘That’s OK, isn’t it?’ Clare nodded encouragingly.

‘Oh God.’ Skye pressed her hands to her cheeks; this was crazy, what was she thinking? ‘I’m nearly thirty and I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. Everything until now feels like a silly crush in comparison. This feels, I don’t know, real, different.’

Her sister twisted so she could reach Skye’s hand and squeeze it. ‘I don’t think there’s an age limit on falling in love, or finding someone who ignites the spark, and there’s certainly not a rule book on who we’re allowed to fall for. If Marta makes you happy, then that’s all that matters.’

Skye’s eyes pinged open. ‘How did you guess?’

‘Marta this, Marta that,’ Clare teased.

Skye blushed. ‘Am I really that bad?’

‘No comment.’ Clare mimed zipping her lips.

‘She’s amazing,’ Skye exclaimed quietly, shaking her head. ‘I’ve had crushes on girls before, but never a proper relationship. I guess, deep down, I always assumed that the big serious love of my life would be a man. But now I’m not so sure. What if she doesn’t feel the same? I’m going to feel such an idiot. And what will Dad think? And Liz?’

‘Whoah.’ Clare laughed. ‘One step at a time.’

‘True,’ Skye winced. ‘Before I can even think about this, I need to tell Jesse that I can’t marry him.’

‘No use pulling the plaster off slowly. Do it soon, for both your sakes.’